Willy Kruyt (né John William Kruyt; 8 September 1877 – July 1943) was a Dutch Protestant minister and Christian socialist, later Communist, politician.
Following his wife's death, Kruyt emigrated to Berlin where he joined Workers International Relief, then to Moscow in 1935 (presumably fleeing from the Nazis)[3] to work at the Lenin State Library. Dissatisfied with Stalinism, he trained as a spy in the hopes of getting back to the Netherlands this way. From England, he parachuted into Belgium in June 1942 with the help of SOE.[4] He broke his leg and was arrested by the German occupiers who detained him at Fort Breendonk.
Death
Kruyt was tortured and deported to the Moabit prison in Berlin where he is thought to have been executed by firing squad in July 1943.[3]
^ abNoordegraaf, Herman (1998). "Kruyt, John William". Biografisch lexicon voor de geschiedenis van het Nederlands protestantisme. Kok/Huygens ING. pp. 269–270.
^ abNoordegraaf, Herman (2015) [1990]. "John William Kruyt". Biografisch Woordenboek van het Socialisme en de Arbeidersbeweging in Nederland. International Institute for Social History.